Bucket loader attachment for dozers



1957 M. J. M DONNELL BUCKET LOADER ATTACHMENT FOR DOZERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1953 INVENTOR. Mqrk J. M onnell Oct. 8, 1957 J. MQDONNELL 2,808,950

BUCKET LOADER ATTACHMENT FOR DOZERS Filed Nov. 9, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FIG. 4 Mark J. M Donnell 1957 M. J. MCDONNELL 2,808,950

BUCKET LOADER ATTACHMENT FOR DOZERS Filed Nov. 9, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 8

INVENTOR.

Mark J. M Donnell BUCKET LOADER ATTACHMENT FOR DOZERS Mark J. McDonnell, Pueblo, Colo.

Application November 9, 1953, Serial No. 391,071

11 Claims. (Cl. 214-140) This invention relates to tractor-powered earth-moving equipment, such as bulldozers, and has as an object to provide a novel and improved attachment susceptible of operative association with various conventional types, sizes, and constructions of such equipment to enlarge the functions and enhance the utility thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved attachment adapted for operative association with conventional bulldozers as an excavator and bucket loader.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and vimproved bucket loader attachment for conventional bulldozers that is altitudinally adjustable through an extensive range in reaction to functional characteristics of the conventional unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved bucket loader attachment for conventional bulldozers that is convenient of operative association with and detachment from the conventional unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved bucket loader attachment for conventional bulldozers characterized'by means for dumping the bucket charge at any selected point in the range of bucket travel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction, organization, and arrangement of elements constituting a bucket loader attachment susceptible of removable association as a unit with the characteristic elements of conventional bulldozers of diverse particularity.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and operative combination of elements as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of one type of conventional bulldozer as equipped with one embodiment of the invention mounted in substitution for the usual bulldozer blade: broken lines indicating an alternative dumping position to which the bucket may be elevated from the excavating position shown in full lines.

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the attachment unit shown in Figure 1 as assembled separate from its mounting on a bulldozer.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a slightly modified embodiment of the invention as mounted'for use with a bulldozeroffixed-blade type, elements of the conventional bulldozer not essential to an understanding of the invention being omitted.

Figure 4 is a front end view, on anenlarged scale, of the unit according to Figure 2 as slightly modified within the contemplation of the invention. V

Figure 5 is a fragmentary, detail section, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on the indicated line 5-5 of Figure 2 with the bucket element elevated.

Figt e 6 is a top plan view of the showing of Figure 5.

Fi gure 7 is an elaboration of theshowing of Figure 5, 0h arelatively reduced scale, illustrating release of the bucket latch and a broken line indication of the dumping position of the released bucket.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary, detail section taken substantially on the indicated line 88 of Figure 4 with the bucket element elevated and the bucket dumping position indicated by broken lines.

Bulldozers are extensively in use in a variety of types, sizes, and particular constructions similarly and conventionally characterized by a tractor 10, a pusher yoke 11 generally embracing the tractor .and hinged thereto at its open end for selective actuation through a limited vertical are by means, either mechanical or hydraulic, powered by the tractor and variously connecting with the yoke, as through the illustrated rigid struts 12 fixedly upstanding from the yoke arms, and a blade 13 constituting or associated with the closed end of the yoke 11 remote from the hinged end of the yoke disposed generally ahead and transversely of the tractor for altitudinal adjustment with the yoke free end. As represented by Figure 1, the closed forward end of the yoke 11 is frequently symmetrically converged forwardly of the tractor to a blunt apex 14 worked to adjustably support a demountable blade which has been omitted from the view, while in other constructions, typified by Figure 3, the blade 13 fixed to and spans between forward ends of the yoke arms to itself complete the yoke. All of the foregoing is con; ventional and in and of itself part of the instant invention, the representations anddescriptions of the bulldozerand its elements merely typifying an environment of diverse particularity wherein the attachment constituting the invention may be associated and utilized with efficiency and advantage.

Conventional bulldozers are operatively limited by their incapacity to excavate, elevate, and load materials; it be ing common practice to rely on a separate powered loading unit as a supplement to the bulldozer, thus introducing capital investment and operating expense beyond that justified by many undertakings. It being thus of practical advantage to combine the functions of a bulldozer and an excavating loader in a single powered unit, the instant invention is directed to the provision of an attachment capable of efiicient performance as an excavating loader in demountable associationwith the essential elements of conventional bulldozers.

The attachmentunit includes an excavating bucket 15,

of appropriate size} material, and construction, characterized by a bottom 16 presenting a free edge excavating lip 17, a back'wall 18 closing against and upstanding from said bottom 16, and end walls 19 marginally closing against corresponding ends of the bottom 16 and back wall 18 in generally perpendicular relation therewith; the unit being completed by means for demountably associating said bucket 15 in desired operating relation with the yoke 11 and the tractor 10.

Operative association of the bucket 15 with the bulldozer to give effect to the principles of the invention is had through the agency of a pair of like, rigid posts 20, of any appropriate form and construction, each of which is arrangedfordetachable connection of its lower end with one of the arms of the yokej11 inwardly from the yoke closed nd to secure the'post in perpendicularly-upstanding relation with the associated yoke arm, the said posts when noun'ted on theyoke being s'pacedly parallel in a plane paralleling the hinge axis of the yoke; A brace 2.1 is attached at one end to and adjacent the upper end of each post 20 and diverges rearwardly' and downwardly from its connection with the post to detachable connection of its other end with a point of the associated yoke arm spaced rearwardly of the yoke from the foot of the associated. post, thus to, stiffen and support the'post in its mounting on the? yoke arm. Obviously, various arrangements are known Patented Oct. 8, 1957 and maybe utilized for detachably securing the ends of the posts 20 and braces 21 to the appropriate points of the associated yoke arm, the plates 22 and bolts 23 illustrated as applied to effect such purpose being but representative of anyfunctionally equivalent structure.

The upper ends of the posts-20 are preferably, though not necessarily, formed as upwardly-opening yokes 24 through each of which extends a hinge pin 25 disposed to parallel the hinge axis of the yoke 11, and a straight, rigid arm 26 is hinged intermediate its ends to each of the pins25 for actuation through a vertical are above and in the vertical plane of each of the arms of said yoke '11. The arms 26 are expediently hinged to their respective posts to provide a short. projection of the arm rearwardly' of the post and a much longer projection of the arm forwardly of thexpost, and "a rigid link '27 hingedly connects between the rearward end of each arm 26and a fixed point of the frame of the tractor at the 'side of the latter, the said fixed points of the tractor frame with which the two links 27 separately connect registering transversely of the tractor in an alignment parallel to the hinge axis of the yoke 11. The bucket is accommodated and spans between the forward ends of the arms 26 and is hingedly engaged therewith, as by means of pins 28 through upper rearward portions of the bucket end walls 19 and the exteriorly adjacent ends of the arms 26, to rock about an axis parallel to the hinge axis of the yoke 11 and to present the bucket lip 17 in the direction of tractor forward travel when the bucket bottom 16 is generally parallel to the ground surface.

- The height of the posts 20, the length of the arms 25, the location of hinge pin 25 connection with the arm 26, and the length of the links27 are so selected and proportioned as to position the bucket 15 with its back wall 18 closely adjacent or against a forwardly-directed, fixed element of the yoke 11 closed end and its bottom 16 slightly below the ground plane when the yoke 11 is lowered to approach its closed end, 01' blade 13, to the ground plane, in which relation of elements elevation of the yoke 11 closed end by means of the agencies and controls characteristic of the conventional bulldozer acts through elevation of the posts and consequent rocking of the arms 26 on the upper ends of said posts through the influence of the links 27 to elevate the forward ends of said arms, and the bucket 15 carried thereby, at a rate greater than that of yoke closed end elevation and through the position indicated by broken lines in Figure 1 to a height suitable for delivery of the bucket charge to a truck, wagon, or the like. As should be apparent, the range of bucket elevation possible through the organization illustrated and described is susceptible of variation within wide limits through selective proportioning and correlation of the articulated mounting elements. v

Hingedly carried by and between'the forward ends of the arms 26, as shown and described, the bucket 15 is arranged to automatically rock about the axis of the pins 28 under the influence of gravity acting on its unbalanced weight to a position wherein its bottom 16 is inclined forwardly and downwardly for gravity discharge 'of the bucket charge, and appropriate means, either mechanical or hydraulic, is provided to hold the bucket relative to the arms 26 in suitable .position for loading and elevation and to permit selective tilting of the bucket on its hinge axis when discharge of the bucket load is desired. As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, S, 6,'-and 7, a mechanical trip latch for the bucket 15 may consist of duplicate assemblies associated with the arms 26 for coaction with the upper margin of the bucket back wall 18 adjacent the "ends of the bucket. Each of the trip latch assemblies includes a hook 29 hinged at-one' end to a pintle 30, which may be a spacer rod bridging perpendicularly between the arms '26, the said hook being adapted to swing through. a vertical are adjacent the inner face of the associated arm 26 for engagement of its free,

hooked end over the upper margin of the bucket back wall 18 when the bucket is lowered into loading position with its bottom 16 slightly inclined for bite of the bucket lip 17 into the ground surface, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. A stop pin 31 outstands from the inner face of the arm 26 through the plane of hook travel about the pintle 30 and is engaged by the undermargin of the book 29 to hold said hook in position for latching engagement with the bucket back wall. Thus, when the dumped bucket is lowered to ground engagement it rocks on its pins 28 and automatically ratchets the hooks over and into latching relation with the bucket back wan. Manual tripping and release of the hooks 29 is had through a bent lever 32 hinged at one side of its bend to the inner face of the hook 29 to dispose the adjacent lever free end in extension across the notch of said hook and in position to engage the upper margin of the bucket back wall 18 when said wall is latched by the hook, as in Figure 5, the otherfree end of the lever 32 depending rearwardly anddownwardly across the pintle 30 to con-. nection with .an actuating line 33 terminating within.

convenient reach of the tractor operator. Thus, when the line 33 is tensioned the lever 32 is rocked on its pivotal engagement with the hook 29, the free forward end of said lever bears on the upper margin of the bucket back wall 18, and the hook 29 is rocked on its pintle 30 to disengage the bucket back wall, as in Figure 7, for consequent automatic dump of the bucket charge. Obviously, the actuating lines 33 of the duplicate latch assemblies may be joined for simultaneous tensioning.

Alternative to the mechanical trip latch, an hydraulic ram 34 may be hingedly and operatively engaged between the bucket back wall 18 and a beam 35 fixedly bridging between the arms 26 in a rearward spacing from the bucket, as in Figures 4 and 8, and said ram may be connected in and served by the hydraulic system of a conventional bulldozer, as through lines 36, so that extension and retraction of the ram under the control of the tractor operator is reflected as tilt of the bucket about its hinge axis, all in accord with usual and well understood practice.

Since the attachment is arranged to position the bucket 15 across and forwardly adjacent the closed end of the yoke 11 when the yoke is lowered to position the bucket for loading, it is practical and advantageous to provide. that the forward thrust of said yoke incident to forward travel of the tractor be applied directly to the bucket during loading and excavating operations, thus to minimize the loads imposed on the arms 26, pins 28, and other elements of the attachment. When the attachment is mounted on a yoke having an apex 14 from which a bladehas been detached, as in Figure 1, it is feasible to provide a bumper block 37 fixed to cover the apex 14, or fixed to the bucket back wall 18 in position to register with said apex, of a thickness to fill the space between the bucket and apex when the bucket is lowered to its desired use position, thus to apply the thrust of the yoke directly to and for advance of the bucket. Similarly, when the attachment is mounted on a unit having a fixed blade 13, as in Figure 3, a bumper block, or beam, 37

may be secured to the bucket back wall, or to the blade,

in an appropriate thickness to couple the yoke 11, blade 13, and bucket 15 for the simultaneous application of thrust. By varying the thickness of the bumpers 37 and 37', a limiting lowered position of the bucket determinative of lip 17 bite may be obtained.

As represented by Figure 4, braces or spacers 38 may be provided in perpendicular bridging relation between the arms 26 where and as desired.

The attachment shown and described is adapted for fabrication as a complete unit appropriate for mounting on and inoperative association with the tractors and blade yokes of bulldozers of varied conventional type and arrangernent. Once the yoke of the bulldozer has been conditioned to receive and secure the ends of the posts 20 and braces 21 and hinge connections for the links 27 have been arranged on the tractor frame, it is a simple and'rapid matter to mount the attachment in its position of use, whereafter the normal attributes and functions of the conventional bulldozer may be applied to accomplish desired excavating and loading functions not previously within the capacity of the conventional unit. Conversely, the attachment is quickly and readily removable from the bulldozer when its presence might impede customary use of the powered unit.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a bulldozer having a tractor, a pusher yoke hinged at its open end to and in substantially embracing relation with said tractor for adjustment through a vertical arc, and means powered by the tractor for raising and lowering the free end of said yoke, of posts perpendicularly upstanding from opposite sides of said yoke inwardly adjacent the yoke free end, arms similarly hinged intermediate their ends on the upper ends of said posts to swing through vertical arcs in parallel planes perpendicular to the yoke hinge axis, links hingedly connecting inner ends of said arms to fixed points of the tractor, a bucket hinged to and spanning between forward ends of said arms exteriorly and transversely of and for engagement at times against the free end of said yoke, and means for releasably holding said bucket in fixed angular relation with said arms.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein lower ends of said posts detachably engage the yoke and the tractor-connected ends of said links are detachable from the tractor fixed points, whereby to condition the bucket and its mounting for removal and replacement relative to the bulldozer.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the arms are hinged to their respective posts to provide a relatively short inner end portion connecting with the associated link and a relatively long outer end portion connecting with the bucket, whereby to dispose the bucket forwardly of and in position to receive thrust from the yoke free end when the yoke is lowered.

4. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said bucket is formed with a bottom having a forwardly-directed loading and excavating lip, a back wall adapted to engage with and receive thrust from the free end of the associated yoke, and end walls, and is hinged at said end walls to said arms to rock under theinfiuence of gravity for forward dumping of its load.

5. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said bucket is formed with a bottom having a forwardlydirected loading and excavating lip and a back wall adapted to engage at times against and to receive thrust from the free end of the associated yoke, and the means for releasably holding the bucket in fixed angular relation with the arms engages between elements fixed to said arms and the back wall of the bucket to dispose the bucket bottom with its lip presented for loading and excavating operations when the yoke is lowered.

6. In combination with a bulldozer having a tractor, pusher arms paralleling the opposite sides of and hinged at their rearward ends to said tractor for adjustment through parallel vertical arcs, a yoke free end closure fixedly spanning between forward ends of said pusher arms transversely and forwardly of the tractor, and means powered by the tractor for raising and lowering the free end of the yoke comprised from said pusher arms and end closure, a post detachably engaged with and to upstand perpendicularly from each said pusher arm inwardly adjacent the yoke endclosure, a bucket re hinged intermediate its ends to the'u per' end of each said post to swing in a 'vertical' arcabovethe associated pusher arm and to provide a relatively short inner portion and a relatively long outer portion, a link hinged at one end to the inner end of each bucket arm and detachably hinged at its other end to a'fixed point of the tractor, whereby to dispose the bucket arm outer end at a for ward and downward inclination across the yoke free end closure when the latter is lowered, an excavating and loading bucket hinged to and spanning between outer ends of said bucket arms to open forwardly of the yoke free end closure, to receive thrust from said end closure when the pusher arms are lowered, and to rock to forward dumping position under the influence of gravity when said pusher arms are elevated, and means for releasably holding said bucket infixed angular relation with the bucket arms.

7. A bucket loader attachment for bulldozers having a tractor, a pusher yoke hinged at its open end to said tractor for adjustment through a vertical arc in substantially embracing relation with said tractor, and means powered by the tractor for raising and lowering the free end of said yoke, said attachment comprising a post adapted for detachable connection with and to upstand vertically from each side of said yoke inwardly adjacent the yoke free end, an arm hingedintermediate its ends to the upper end of each said post to swing in longitudinal alignment with and through a vertical arc above each side of the yoke, a link hinged to the inner end of each said arm and adapted for detachable hinge connection of its other end with a fixed point of the tractor, a bucket hinged to and spanning between outer ends of said arms exteriorly and transversely of and for engagement at times against the free end of said yoke, and means for releasably holding said bucket in fixed angular relation with the arms.

8. The attachment according to claim 7, wherein said arms are so hinged to the posts as to provide a relatively short inner portion connecting with the associated link and a relatively long outer portion connecting with the bucket adapted to incline forwardly and downwardly across the yoke free end when the latter is lowered, and the links are proportioned in length to dispose the bucket forwardly across and in position to receive thrust from the yoke free end when the latter is lowered.

9. The attachment according to claim 7, wherein the bucket is formed with a forwardly-presented excavating and loading lip, and the means for releasably holding the bucket in fixed angular relation with the arms engages between said bucket and elements fixed to the arms to dispose the bucket with its lip presented for loading and excavating when the yoke free end is lowered.

10. The attachment according to claim 7, wherein the bucket is formed with a forwardly-presented excavating and loading lip and a back wall, and the means for releasably holding the bucket in fixed angular relation with the arms comprises a hook pivoted at one end on the arm for engagement of its hooked end over the upper margin of the bucket back wall when the bucket is in excavating and loading position, a stop pin on the arm disposed to hold said hook in position for latching engagement with the bucket back wall, a trip lever pivoted to said hook with its forward end projecting across the upper margin of the bucket back wall and its rearward end depending rearwardly and downwardly past the hook pivot, and an actuating line attached to the rearward end of said lever.

11. The attachment according to claim 7, wherein the bucket is formed with a forwardly-presented excavating and loading lip and a back wall, and the means for releasably holding the bucket in fixed angular relation with the arms comprises a beam fixedly bridging between said arms rearwardly of the bucket and a hydraulic ram powered by the tractor hingedly engaged between said beam and the back wall of the bllzket to parallel the longitu- FOREIGN PATENTS 15551 .fi #PWMQ? v r 661,531 Great Britain .L (55:. 1', i945" Retarianpiasi-ci ed m th'file fi this patent 150,856 Australia P 13, 5

l Q r STATES fATEN IS. 5

2,660,816 Maxwell 6*. Dec. 1, 1953 

